


The Blacksmith's Son

by AntarcticBird



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-10
Updated: 2013-02-10
Packaged: 2017-11-28 20:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/678674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AntarcticBird/pseuds/AntarcticBird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blaine is sixteen when he first meets the blacksmith’s son.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Blacksmith's Son

Blaine is sixteen when he first meets the blacksmith's son.

It's a cold and rainy day and because he's the newest and youngest stable boy and because no one else wants to venture outside in this weather, they send him. He's to go into the village, ask the blacksmith to pay them a visit the next day – Lord Dalton's favorite horse needs new shoes.

So he runs through the heavy downpour, slipping and sliding on the muddy roads, seeking shelter under the tall trees along the way until he reaches the village. It looks almost deserted – this isn't the weather to take a walk in.

Soaked through and frozen to his bones as he is, the heat from the forge almost chokes him as he enters the blacksmith's shop. He's shivering, arms wrapped around himself, and he wouldn't be surprised if there was steam coming from his clothes as the hot air surrounds him.

Timidly, he announces his presence, his voice drowned out by the sound of metal on metal. The blacksmith is bent over an anvil, working, a look of deep concentration on his face.

Blaine clears his throat, tries to keep his teeth from chattering. “Mr Hummel?” he tries again.

The blacksmith finally looks up, a look of surprise, then concern crossing his kind face. “Where did you come from, boy?”

“Lord Dalton.” Blaine's body gives another violent shiver, he can't help it. “He needs you. His horse – ” 

“Never mind that now.” The blacksmith puts down his hammer, waves for Blaine to come inside all the way. “Close the door behind you. They made you come here in this weather?”

“It's – it's rather urgent...”

“Nothing can possibly be _that_ urgent. I think I'll have a word with your stable master about this.” At Blaine's horrified expression – he's new there and he doesn't want to make it seem like he needs other people to fight his battles – the blacksmith walks over and puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. “No, don't look like that. I won't get you in trouble. But Schuester owes me and it can't hurt to remind him I remember that on occasion. Now.” The man turns away, frowning slightly. “Kurt?” he calls.

A young man around Blaine's own age steps out of the shadows, holding a sword he's apparently been polishing until he was called. He's a little taller than Blaine, his skin a little fairer, and Blaine shivers again as he looks into the kindest, most stunning eyes he has ever seen. There is sweat on the boy's brow from the heat inside the blacksmith's shop, his fingers are dirty and his clothes plain.

And Blaine is sure he has never, in all his life, seen anyone more breathtakingly beautiful.

“This is my son, Kurt,” the blacksmith introduces them. “Kurt,” he continues, “I think our young friend here could use a hot drink and a little time to warm up before we send him back to the castle.”

Kurt frowns, looking so very much like his father in that moment, Blaine almost has to smile. “Yes, I can see that.” His voice is clear and his expression concerned and Blaine can't stop staring at him, knowing it's rude, but he's had a miserable day and he didn't want to come here and then... he runs into an angel in the dirtiest, most unlikely place in the village.

“Will you take care of it? I have to finish up here,” the blacksmith asks his son, and Kurt nods.

“Of course. Please, follow me...” He gives Blaine an expectant look, one eyebrow raised slightly in question. 

Blaine needs a minute before he takes the hint, finally snapping out of this funny haze inside his head. “Blaine,” he says. “My name is Blaine.”

Kurt smiles politely and puts down the sword he'd been holding. “Blaine. That's a nice name. Well, follow me, Blaine.”

Kurt leads him out the back door and over to the tiny house next to the blacksmith's shop. Inside, it's warm, but not as unbearably hot as inside the shop. It's a lot cleaner, too, and Kurt only takes the time to clean his hands and put a kettle on the fire before he excuses himself, disappears into a back room.

Blaine stands near the kitchen stove, holding out his frozen hands to warm them, unsure of what to do. He doesn't want to sit on the furniture in his soaked-through state. It seems very impolite after the kindness the blacksmith and his son have already shown him.

Kurt, however, reappears only a moment later, dressed in clean clothes and his face red where he apparently scrubbed it clean with cold water. He smiles at Blaine, a small, friendly smile that warms Blaine more than the fire ever could.

“You look cold,” he says.

“I'm all right,” Blaine assures him, but Kurt just laughs.

“You're not. You're going to catch a cold if you don't get out of these clothes. You can change in there...” he points to the room he just came out of. “I've put some dry clothes for you on the chair next to the bed. They're mine, but I think they should fit. Then we can dry yours in here before we send you home.”

Blaine's eyes widen and he's at a loss for words. No one has been this nice to him in a long time. “That's... Kurt, that's really not necessary. I'm fine.”

Kurt rolls his eyes and grins at him. “Just put on the dry clothes, Blaine! I'll not be held responsible for the death of Lord Dalton's newest stable boy. I'll make us some tea while you change.”

“Thank you!” Blaine is glad his cheeks are already flushed from the sudden change in temperature or he's sure he would have blushed. He knows he can't. He doesn't want to give Kurt any reason to dislike him – he has heard the names others use for people like him and he doesn't want them directed at himself.

Most men don't think like him, he knows. He has spent some summers at his uncle's house, with his cousin Rachel who is his age. Her father is the only other man he knows who prefers the company of other men, and actually lives with one, too. He never thought much about it when he was young, but heard his parents talk about it sometimes as he got older. They weren't bothered by it, which had been a relief to Blaine. Still, he knows not everyone is this understanding.

He walks into the room Kurt has indicated, closing the door hesitantly behind himself. It's nothing more than a small chamber, a bed in the corner and a dresser against the wall, one chair next to the door. It must be where Kurt sleeps, he realizes. There's a candle on the dresser and a few books on a low shelf, a few other small items arranged in between them. It looks cozy and comfortable and perfect for the beautiful boy who's waiting for him in the kitchen.

Blaine finds the clothes, changes quickly, trying not to get too excited about the fact that he's wearing another man's clothes. They are a little too big for him, but they are dry and clean and when he inhales deeply, he catches the faint scent of _man_ on them – Kurt's smell, no doubt. He likes it. More than he probably should.

He feels guilty – Kurt is being so nice to him and he's behaving entirely inappropriate.

So he sighs, gathers his wet things and returns to the kitchen, where Kurt is just pouring tea into two large, brown mugs.

He looks up when Blaine enters, smiles at him again. “Here, let me,” he says, quickly relieving Blaine of the wet clothes despite his protests and hangs them above the stove to dry. “Sit,” he tells Blaine, waving to the chairs around the small table in the center of the tiny room.

Blaine sits, wraps his hands around the mug Kurt offers him. The tea smells sweet and spicy and he takes a small sip, careful not to burn his lips and throat.

Kurt sits down in the chair on the opposite side of the table and they start talking, Kurt asking him questions about the castle and answering Blaine's own questions about the village – Blaine isn't from around here and has a lot of things to ask. Kurt is patient and nice and even offers to show him around once Blaine gets a day off – which probably won't be all too soon, but it's still a kind offer.

They end up talking far too long and it's getting dark when Blaine realizes he has to get back to the castle. His clothes aren't dry yet, but they're not soaked anymore, and he changes back into them despite Kurt's insistence that he keep the ones he borrowed from him.

Blaine doesn't want to leave. It has stopped raining and he knows he'll get in trouble if he doesn't return soon, but the blacksmith's house is warm and inviting and the blacksmith's son is wonderful company and the most beautiful person Blaine has ever met. So he stands in the doorway, biting his lip, trying to think of something to say to convey his thanks and at least some of those emotions swirling inside his chest. He doesn't want to give anything away, but he can't leave Kurt without letting him know grateful he is and how much he wants to see him again. How he wishes they could be friends.

In the end, he settles for a handshake and a shy smile, earning an answering smile from Kurt in return.

That night as Blaine lays down on his pallet and covers himself with the rough woolen blanket he was given, he thinks of Kurt and his kind eyes and his soothing voice and those tiny freckles on his face and even though he's still cold and still wishes he were anywhere but here, he falls asleep with a smile on his face.

**

From that day on, Blaine volunteers every time anyone has to go to the village. It gives him a chance to drop by the blacksmith's, spend a few stolen minutes with those people whose kindness he still doesn't understand, but appreciates nonetheless.

The blacksmith – Burt – always puts down his work for a few minutes to talk with him, and Kurt always has a smile for him, sometimes accompanies him on his errands if his father doesn't need him, occasionally walks Blaine back almost all the way to the castle if there is time.

Blaine cannot pinpoint the day or the moment it happens, but after a few weeks, he realizes they are friends.

It's an amazing feeling – Blaine has had friends in his own village, growing up. But ever since he had to leave to find work, he hasn't met anyone he'd call a true friend.

And now there is Kurt whose entire face seems to light up when he sees Blaine, Kurt who talks to him, walks with him, is always so nice to him.

And Blaine _feels_... too much. It's scaring him a little because he knows he can never act on it. But he's helpless, defenseless in the face of those emotions, the way his heart expands every time he thinks of Kurt or every time Kurt smiles at him, every time their hands touch and every time he hears Kurt's laugh.

He isn't supposed to feel this way. He knows. And he hopes and prays that Kurt won't notice, because losing his friendship, even after only knowing him for such a short time, would destroy him. There are days and sleepless nights when he wishes he could change, tell his traitorous heart to behave. To let him feel like others feel. Not to let Kurt go, no, never that. He wants Kurt in his heart forever. But if he could just love him as a friend...

Blaine has always known he was different. But it only started getting difficult when he met Kurt. Before, he could pretend, he could hold on to the thought that he might be like everyone else one day. Meeting Kurt, however, has opened his eyes – he will never want to find a girl and live like other men. He'll never have what others have.

It always ends with the same thought, though: he'd rather have Kurt in his life and dream of the things he can't have, no matter how much it hurts him, than to go back to the way things were before.

**

Adjusting to life in a new place is difficult, and Blaine doesn't know how he would have managed without Kurt.

He's used to hard work, he has been working on his parents' farm since he was a little kid. He had loved his village and his friends, and his parents, and his brother, but he had always known he'd have to go away eventually – he's the younger son and once his parents die the farm will be Cooper's.

So he had been prepared to leave for a long time, but it's still not easy. The other servants at the castle push him around, because he's new there. He gets all the tasks no one else wants and often he goes to sleep aching and cold and exhausted.

He misses his family and everything about his old life and sometimes, all he wants is to go back, work for his brother and live a quiet, simple life on the farm, no matter how many people will look at him funny because he can't manage life on his own.

But he stays. And when it all gets too bad, he slips away the first chance he gets and finds Kurt.

Kurt always cheers him up – he takes him on long walks through the woods, makes him a cup of tea, sometimes sings to him when Blaine isn't up to walking or talking. Kurt is always kind and caring and Blaine wonders what he's ever done to deserve a friend like him. As long as he has Kurt, he will always be all right.

And then he remembers that Kurt is seventeen and it won't be long until he meets a nice girl, starts a family. Blaine knows it won't stop Kurt from being his friend. But he'll have responsibilities, he'll have a wife and children to take care of, and Blaine won't always be able to go to him when he feels sad and lonely. He won't be able to just show up at his door and take him for a walk, because Kurt will want to spend time with his own family.

It's a sad thought, but he pushes it away whenever it creeps up on him, telling himself that day might not be near for months, maybe years. He feels bad, wishing it may take Kurt a long time to find his happiness. He wants Kurt to have it all and to deny him that even in his head is selfish. But he doesn't know what he would do if he had to share Kurt with anyone.

**

It's a letter from his brother that brings all of his worries back with full force – Cooper has met a girl and he's getting married and he sounds so happy, even in writing.

Blaine reads the letter over and over, feeling glad for his brother, but sad for so many other reasons. He won't be able to go to the wedding. He won't meet his brother's wife any time soon. They will have children and Blaine will see them on occasion, but he won't be there to see his nieces and nephews grow up. Because there hadn't been any work in his village and now he's miles and miles away from them.

He's also sad because he thinks of Kurt, wondering how long it will be until he hears the joy he read in Cooper's words ringing in Kurt's beautiful voice.

It will be the day he loses him, Blaine knows. Not as a friend, but as a dream of a future that's closed to him anyway. And for once, he cannot push the thought away.

He escapes from the castle that afternoon, runs down to the village as fast as he can, Cooper's letter tucked safely in his shirt.

Kurt is helping his father when Blaine bursts into the shop, out of breath and so desperate to see his friend, he hasn't even thought up an excuse for being here at such an unusual time and without a single errand as an excuse.

Kurt doesn't say much. He takes one look at Blaine, excuses himself to his father, then steers Blaine through the door, leads him down the road and out of the village.

They walk in silence until they're in the woods, and even then Blaine keeps walking, down to the stream where they sit when they want to talk. No one ever comes here.

There's a flat boulder just on the bank and Blaine sits down, stares at his knees as Kurt settles next to him. He has so much to say and he doesn't know where to start, doesn't know how, because it's difficult without giving too much away. He's almost at breaking point, though. He's so tired of pretending; this secret he's carried around with him for as long as he can remember weighing heavily on his soul.

“What's wrong?” Kurt asks, and Blaine starts to cry.

He can't help it, he can't stop, he just feels so alone and so _wrong_ and it's too much. He doesn't even have the strength to be embarrassed anymore, all he feels is the pain in his heart and a longing so strong it takes his breath away.

And then he feels Kurt shifting closer, feels himself being enveloped by strong, comforting arms, and he doesn't resist as Kurt gathers him close. Instead, he rests his face against Kurt's chest, allows himself to be held while his body shakes with all those feelings he cannot control.

Kurt's hands are rubbing soothing circles into his back and Kurt's body is solid and warm and _real_ and Blaine hugs him as hard as he dares, clings to him with a desperation that surprises even himself.

The tears subside soon enough and yet he's reluctant to let go – he feels safe in Kurt's arms. It feels like home and love and happiness. All the things he fears he'll never have.

Eventually, he lifts his head, shy and a little distraught for losing control like this.

But Kurt's eyes are full of concern and affection, and Blaine's breath hitches as Kurt brings his hands to his face, gently wipes away the tears.

“I'm sorry,” Blaine says, voice rough from crying.

“No, don't be.” Kurt drops his hands to Blaine's shoulders, keeps them there, warm and reassuring for a long, blissful moment. “Just tell me what I can do. Tell me why you're so sad.”

“It's nothing.” Blaine shakes his head. “It's stupid.” He tells Kurt of Cooper's letter, shows it to him, explains how he misses his brother and how he wishes he could be there and share in his joy. He leaves out everything about himself, about his own feelings, too afraid and too ashamed.

“I know you miss them,” Kurt says once Blaine is finished. “But you'll have all of that, too, one day. I promise you will, Blaine.”

Blaine bites his lip, stares at his hands and keeps quiet.

“You don't believe it?” Kurt squeezes his shoulder, sounding worried.

“No,” Blaine answers, so quietly he thinks maybe Kurt hasn't even heard him. “I don't. I won't.”

“Oh, Blaine.” Kurt hugs him again, and Blaine fights back a fresh wave of tears. This is everything he wants, for the rest of his life. It seems cruel, to have it right there in front of him but still just out of reach.

“I think you're wrong,” Kurt tells him, drawing back, smiling. “But until you find your happiness, you'll always have me, you know that, don't you?”

_That's all I need_ , Blaine wants to say. Instead, he nods, trying to make his voice sound firm and strong when he replies. “And you'll always have me. Even when you have a family of your own. I'll always be your friend.

Kurt's face falls a little and he shrugs. “I can't really see myself having a family of my own any time soon.”

“You'd make a wonderful father,” Blaine tells him. “I'm sure you will find a nice girl...”

“That's what everyone expects, isn't it?” Kurt sighs, lets go of Blaine to sit facing the stream instead. He looks sad. “That's what it's supposed to be like. Find a nice girl, marry her, have children.”

“Isn't that what you want?” Blaine is confused, not sure what to make of Kurt's sudden gloominess.

“I've never...” Kurt lowers his head, seems to think about his answer for a moment.

Blaine watches his profile, takes in every detail of this beautiful boy he knows so well, and he feels a rush of tenderness for Kurt that tugs at his heart and makes his fingertips tingle with the need to reach out and touch.

“That was never what I wanted,” Kurt finally says and turns his head, his eyes meeting Blaine's, and they're filled with tears.

Blaine can't look away, can't do anything but stare into those eyes, into this lovely face that's so close to his own he can almost feel Kurt's breath on his skin. He knows he should move away, because they're too close, it's too tempting and Kurt will know, he'll find out and their friendship will be over. But his heart is hammering in his chest and he can't end the moment, he doesn't have that kind of willpower. He can't turn away from Kurt.

And Kurt doesn't move away either, just keeps looking at him, inching even closer and Blaine feels his palms begin to sweat, feels silly hope blooming in his chest where there was only despair before.

“Kurt.” His voice breaks as he says the name, a futile attempt to break the spell, or maybe to seal it, he's not sure anymore.

And then Kurt lifts a hand, raising it slowly as if to give Blaine time to draw away, to back out of this.

Blaine closes his eyes when Kurt brushes a lock of hair out of his face, feels his heart skip a beat as Kurt's fingers run down his cheek in a gentle caress.

“Blaine,” Kurt breathes, and Blaine opens his eyes again, sure he's dreaming, because Kurt is even closer now, so much hope in his eyes.

And... it can't be, can it? It can't be that Blaine is this lucky, because this isn't how life works, this is not what everyone expects of them.

But then Kurt is leaning in and Blaine's eyes slip closed again just before their lips meet in a shy, tender first kiss.

It's everything Blaine had ever dreamed it would be.

Kurt's hand is still cupping his cheek and Kurt's lips are a bit cold, but they're firm and wet and so gentle, so wonderful against his own. And Blaine has to hold onto Kurt's shoulders or he's sure he'd fall. They don't move, don't breathe, just keep their lips pressed together until Blaine is the first to draw back.

Kurt keeps his eyes closed for a long moment, a disbelieving, overwhelmed expression on his face that Blaine feels reflected in his own heart. When Kurt finally looks at him, lifts his fingers to his own lips to touch them as if he can't believe what just happened, Blaine can't hold back anymore – he threads his own fingers through Kurt's hair and pulls him close again, brings their lips back together in a second kiss that's longer and wetter and deeper than the first one.

Kurt's mouth is warm and eager against his, kissing back with such fervor it makes Blaine's head spin. He has dreamed of kissing, has tried to imagine what it feels like. He has never imagined it like this, like he can't stop, like he _needs_ this, like he will never be able to let Kurt go again.

He rests his forehead against Kurt's when they finally pull apart, breathless and unable to stop touching. Blaine doesn't know what to feel, doesn't know what to say. He's happy, but at the same time worried. Kurt has kissed him back, it's true, but still... _Please don't say this was a mistake_ , Blaine prays. _Please, please mean this_.

Kurt keeps his arms around Blaine, keeps holding him, and Blaine doesn't dare break the moment. If this is all he gets, he wants to cling to it for as long as he can.

And then Kurt hugs him a little tighter, nuzzles their noses together. “I've wanted to do this for so long,” he says, and Blaine can't help it anymore, he smiles, wide and joyful and with a singing heart.

“I've wanted to do this since the day I met you,” he confesses. “I was so afraid you wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore once you found out.”

Kurt draws back, just far enough for them to look into each other's faces. “I was afraid of the same thing,” he answers. “I was so scared you'd notice I was different and stop talking to me.”

“You're like me,” Blaine whispers, needing to say it, needing to remove all doubt.

“I want to kiss you again,” Kurt replies, and Blaine holds him close, finally letting go of his worries as Kurt's mouth find his again.

He knows he'll have to get back to the castle soon, but he doesn't care right now.

All he cares about is kissing Kurt and feeling like everything will be all right for the first time in a long while.

**

He still goes to the village every opportunity he gets.

But now, instead of walking together or drinking tea and talking about their days, they go to their little spot in the woods and hold each other close, trading smiles and caresses and tender kisses that last forever. Or, if they are short on time, Kurt drags him back into his house and closes the door of his room behind them and kisses him so fiercely it sometimes takes Blaine twice as much time as they actually spend kissing to put himself back together before he leaves.

He still misses his family, he still doesn't like it at the castle. But it's all better now because he has Kurt, really _has_ him as his to hold and to kiss and to dream about at night.

All of a sudden, the future looks bright.

 

**

Running all the way from the castle to the village, he bursts through the door of the blacksmith's shop in the middle of the afternoon, cheeks reddened from the cold air and lungs burning from the exertion.

Kurt is right there, a warm, happy smile spreading across his face as he sees Blaine.

Burt shakes his head, gives them both a pat on the shoulder and tells Kurt to take the rest of the day off.

It's early spring and the birds are singing, the trees growing fresh green leaves and the forest floor soft under their steps.

Blaine takes Kurt's hand, lacing their fingers together, smiling as Kurt lifts their joined hands to press his lips to Blaine's knuckles.

It's been raining and the air smells clean and like a beginning. 

“My father says he'll talk Schuester into letting you go to your brother's wedding,” Kurt tells him.

Blaine stops in his tracks, hope on his chest. “Do you think it will work?”

Kurt nods, grinning. “I'm sure of it, actually.”

“That would be...” Blaine smiles, trying not to get too excited just yet. “That would be amazing.”

“I know how much it means to you.” Kurt gives him a peck on the lips, squeezes his hand. “Just promise you'll come back.”

“I'll always come back to you!” Blaine throws his arms around him, hugs him before they walk on. “In fact, you should come with me. I'd love to introduce you to my family.”

“Do you mean it?” Kurt stops them again, looking at Blaine, a mix of excitement and uncertainty on his face. “You really want me to go with you?”

“Kurt.” Blaine takes a step closer to him, holding onto both of Kurt's hands. “Of course I mean it. Please come with me? You can see where I grew up. We can spend some time together along the way. I won't have to miss you all the time. It's a ten-day journey each way.” And, he thinks, on the way they can stop by his cousin Rachel's house. They have a future to plan and who better than his uncle to help him figure it out.

“Then I'll ask my father as soon as I get home tonight,” Kurt promises and Blaine beams at him, his soul overflowing with affection for this boy who owns his heart.

And as soon as they reach the tiny stream, Kurt pulls him close and Blaine kisses him, the feeling of their bodies this close together overwhelming in the best way possible.

Kurt breaks the kiss, threads his fingers through Blaine's curls and looks him in the eyes. “I love you,” he says.

Blaine wraps his arms tighter around Kurt's waist, feeling lighter than air and happier than he's ever been and so lucky he can't believe it. “I love you, too,” he answers, and brings their lips back together, his heart singing louder than all the birds in the forest as he pours all of his love and hope and devotion into the kiss.

He's no longer alone and he never will be again. He might get to see his family soon. He might get to take Kurt with him and introduce them to each other. Where once his future was filled with nothing but uncertainty and loneliness, it's now full of light and joy. Because Kurt is in it and they're in love.

He doesn't know the rules for when the stable boy falls in love with the blacksmith's son.

But it doesn't matter. Because the blacksmith's son loves the stable boy, too, so they will figure it out. Together. Always together.


End file.
